As basketball and baseball are rounding out the year, the playoffs have had a different energy. It went from a loud and emotional roller coaster to a middle school football game, slow and hard to watch. Not because of the coronavirus causing games to be cancelled, but simply because there is nobody to attend. 

As much as the National Basketball Association(NBA) has been successful in keeping the coronavirus outside of the bubble, the fun atmosphere we all know and love has disappeared, leaving stadiums and arenas like a graveyard. All hard-core fans have gone virtual, and games are strangely quit, taking away from the experience as a whole. The Finals between the Lakers and Heat have energy of a G-League game even though it is the biggest basketball championship in the world.

 Baseball has had the same effect as basketball: you fall asleep midgame. We are one series away from the American and National League Championship Series, and it feels like a preseason game with no fans in the stands. Good thing for the Marlins — every game feels like a home game because they have become so numb to playing in front of next to nobody in Tropicana Field. 

On top of this lackluster performance on the diamond, Major League Baseball still cannot contain the virus. As of Sept. 13, more than 40 games were postponed around the country due to COVID-19, compared to the NBA which has zero. 

Football is seemingly carrying the sports entertainment world right now because it does not lack anything. They have the fans, the wow factor, and it is football. Football, in my personal opinion, outweighs any sport regardless of the environment. I would take a division three football game over a pro basketball game every day of the week.

On Oct. 8, Gov. Ron DeSantis gave clearance for the Miami Dolphins to sell full capacity seating at upcoming football games. This is a great thing for the sport, but not so great for combatting the coronavirus. People must be responsible if they are to attend, with masks still mandatory, but the crowd size will no doubt cause a massive spike in coronavirus cases this fall. At least they are able to get loud again. 

Television sadly does not help the situation, it is harder for people to attend games simply because of the strange schedules this year has presented, but sweating out in the hot sun with soda spilling all over your lap is something that sports fans miss. 

I am still going to watch the MLB playoffs and I will still end up watching game five of the NBA Finals, but at the end of the day, white football might be leading, none of it compares to one year ago, but at least we are back to playing sports again. When I watch multiple college football games with crowds roaring in the stands and teammates getting hyped up on the sidelines because of them, it will bring a better experience to watching sports. I too plan on sitting in front of the television, spilling soda in my lap, and yelling at the refs for weeks to come.